What I don’t understand, however, is why the Cubs let Dempster toe the rubber in St. Louis last night?

Couldn’t they have waited another day, skipped Dempster’s turn in the rotation and kept him fresh for a new suitor? Would the Dodgers still come calling with another night to sleep on it?

There was little hope Dempster could do more to increase his trade value by starting last night’s game. Five straight wins, 33.0 consecutive scoreless innings and the major’s best ERA is hard to top, even for the man who achieved it.

The Cardinals’ three-run first inning virtually wiped away all three marks from Dempster, although the rumor mongering this morning says Dempster’s four runs in six innings did little to hurt his trade value.

I know this much though, it didn’t help Dempster’s trade value, and the risk of letting Dempster get bombed or worse, injured, seemed too steep a risk for my taste.

The silver lining, perhaps, is the Cubs’ staunch approach to trading Dempster sends the message that TheoJed mean business. Give us what we want, or you can’t have Dempster…or Matt Garza, or anyone else for that matter. End of discussion.

The Braves, Nationals, Cardinals & Tigers remain in the chase for Dempster. Now we’ll see who, if anyone, is willing to cry ‘chicken’ to land him. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

Allowing Dempster to pitch, however, appeared a calculated risk on the Cubs part, and luckily, one they got away with last night in St. Louis.

Can’t imagine the Cubs would let Ryan make another start. Then again, I never expected Dempster to throw another pitch for the Cubs after his outing last Saturday, either.